Mat Staver, Chairman of the Liberty Counsel, stated in an interview with “The Report Card” that the Giles County School Board agreed to keep a display of the Ten Commandment in The Narrows High School. Staver said that the ACLU sued to remove a Ten Commandments display, but lost the fight on Constitutional grounds. Staver said: “The continuing display of the Ten Commandments should be an encouragement to parents and schools across the country who believe that the foundation of American Liberty is built upon our Judeo-Christian traditions.” So what legal precedent won the case? Staver said:

In 1980, The Supreme Court, in Stone vs. Graham, suggests that the Ten Commandments may be displayed if it is integrated into the school curriculum. For example, if a world history in a high school course talks about the influence of Judaism or Jesus Christ on morality, then the Ten Commandments may be displayed.

Staver said that the display shown in this article, came from a Prentice Hall textbook in use in The Narrows High School. The Ten Commandments is clearly shown and the caption reads:

Judeo-Christian Roots

The Values found in the Bible including the Ten Commandments, and the Teachings of Jesus, inspired American ideas about government and morality.

What can schools and families do if they are threatened by the ACLU for the display of the Ten Commandments? Staver said: “They should contact The Liberty Counsel at 800 671 1776.”

Following the suit and discovery, the private donor of the Foundations display proposed, and the board agreed, to exchange the frame of the text of the Ten Commandments with the framed “Roots of Democracy”page from the American history textbook. At the top of the “Roots of Democracy” graphic is the Ten Commandments tablets with Mount Sinai in the background with the following words underneath: “The values found in the Bible, including the Ten Commandments and the teachings of Jesus, inspired American ideas about government and morality.” The Roots of Democracy traces the history of our modern Republic in pictures and words beginning with the Ten Commandments and including the Magna Carta, Roman and Greco law, Enlightenment thinkers with Montesquieu and John Locke, and English Parliamentary Traditions.

The ACLU of Virginia sued the Giles County School Board after the board adopted an open forum policy, which permits the display of historical documents by private individuals or groups. A privately sponsored Foundations of American Law and Government display consisting of the Ten Commandments, in equally-sized frames, was posted in Narrows High School. The display also includes the Magna Carta, Declaration of Independence, Mayflower Compact, Bill of Rights, George Mason’s Declaration of Rights, and Jefferson’s Statute for Religious Freedom. Additional historical documents were later posted at the request of a local citizen, consisting of the First Charter of Virginia, the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, a depiction and quote of Patrick Henry, a depiction of Minutemen, a depiction of George Washington, Washington’s Farewell Address, a depiction of Thomas Jefferson, Jefferson’s letters to the Danbury Baptists and to Reverend Samuel Miller, Jefferson’s 1779 Thanksgiving Proclamation, and the Northwest Ordinance. In total, there are 29 frames.

The Virginia Standards of Learning requires students to know about the foundational principles of civilizations, including the Hebrews, and the foundations of law and government. Secular textbooks published by Prentice Hall and McGraw-Hill trace the roots of democracy and law and specifically refer to the Ten Commandments and many of the documents posted as part of the display.

As a result of the settlement, the open forum policy will remain, along with all the documents mentioned above. The ACLU received no attorney’s fees as part of this settlement. Staver said:

The school board is very pleased with the settlement. The open forum for private citizens and the displays on law and government will remain, including the Ten Commandments tablets as part of the ‘Roots of Democracy’ frame. The displays are visual teaching tools about law and government, which the students in Virginia study as part of American and world history. These display documents are good models for other schools to follow. As we celebrate Independence Day, we are reminded that we enjoy a rich history of law and government on which America was founded.

This post was written by:

2 Responses to “Victory for 10 Commandments Display in Virginia High School”

Thanks for the follow-up report which probably will receive zero air time on any of the big networks or communist cable channels. Nice to see the good guys win one — this is what a truly courageous and righteous School Board does: stands up to the ACLU when the law / Constitution is on their side.

It’s OK when what’s being taught is morally corrupt, but morals are seen as corruption to the liberal democrats/communist/ Obama regime, because the dumber America’s children are, the less they value in family, the weaker and easier it is to manipulate them an build a support network of Obama sympathizers and more stupid government relying people will do nothing but grow america’s prison system and continue to produce more dumb citizens who blindly follow what the government tells them to do.